Sharad Pawar gives jolt to nephew Ajit as several NCP leaders switch sides to NCP(SP) ahead of Maharashtra Assembly Poll

Ajit Pawar:- Chief among those switching sides was NCP leader Ajit Gavhane, the party’s Pimpri-Chinchwad president who was being touted as a dynamic face of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.

In a jolt to the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly election, more than 20 leaders and office bearers of the NCP from Pimpri-Chinchwad joined the NCP (SP) led by Sharad Pawar on July 17.

Now, with Ajit Pawar himself aligned with the BJP in the ruling Mahayuti government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, several local leaders feel uncomfortable with the saffron embrace.

This, coupled with the NCP’s drubbing in the recent Lok Sabha election, has prompted many leaders in the Ajit Pawar group to consider returning back to Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP), which had a remarkable showing in the general election, winning eight of ten Lok Sabha seats it contested on.